The Sun. — London, England, 1826-05-03 00:00:00

mid. The Petitioner prayed the interference of the House in her ease, in which prayer the lion. Member concurred. Mr. PEARCE said the Bank had in this :instance done as was venal between other parties so circumstanced, expressed a willing *eta to show the alleged forged Power of Attorney provided the Lady borrelf gave the Bank a guarantee against an action.--The Peti.' tiim was read and laid on the table. SCOTCH ATTAINTS. Mr. Seeretary PEEL, on introducing the Bills which had -tome froni the other House, for reversing the attain'lers of Earls Airlie and' Carnwath, Barons Eleho and Duffus, and Sir Patrick Murray Thtiephind, of Fingask, observed, that in the cases of Lords Airlie• and Wemys, the House was merely doing an act of !justice. He hoped the noose would follow the precedents of Tor mer Acts 'Of 'this nature, and to allow them to pass through the first and second reading this evening. Lord MILTON said, he felt the task imposed on him was the most disagreeable possible, because it prevented him doing that which he felt would be agreeable to his own feeling, on the score of the personal merits of the claimants to these titles. He con irs3ed the selection was unfortunate; had the Right Iron. 'Gen tleman moved a Bill for the general removal of attaint, he should not have opposed it ; hut he would ;not consent to a particular :measure for relieving these persons from attaint, 'whose ancestors had lost their titles in consequence of resisting the constitutional right of that. House, and the 'House of Lords, to settle the suc cession. Mr. C, W. WYNN reminded the Noble Lord, that the exer - oh , : of mercy was the most enviable prerogative of the Crown, and laid reconciled, perhaps, more than anything else, the public to the occasional severity of the law of forfeiture for attainder. Sir J. NEWPOIVI' wished the Act' of Grace had not been so restricted. 'There were many cases of attainder of Irish Peers which might with greater,propriety have beedinchided in this re versa' of attainder. After a feW words from Mr. Secretary Pars. and Lord Joins Ressrm., the Bills were tend a first and second time, and ordered to be committed severally. FLOGGING IN NEW SOUTII WALES. . Sir M. W. 'RIDLEY said he did not intend to trespass in his present motion on the patience of the House, when they were ex pecting a indtter coinparatirely of SO much greater importance for thtir consideration ; lust he must trespass on its patience so far, as to stile a few facts relative to the sal-atluninistration of justice in the British setthrment of Parhamat tab, in Ni!NV South Wales. lie allud ed to the cast! of l i enry L orain e,.wl,us had hero sentenced to receive twenty-five lashes each day,, cumfessed , where the money weal which' be bad .been aects,,:ed of ctealitig. This prisoner had been subsequently sent to Fort 3lacquarrie, and the Grand Jury heal subsequently confessed that : the first part of the punishment had been inflicted .to compel the confession pf his crime. The neat cuse was of man named Johnson, necoSed of stealing a pair of trowaers; siiditarly treated; tool the third wits the case of a Dutchman, Who bad been a deserter, and haul accused two persons of harbouring him, merely to escape punishment him self, whilskitrendered them liable to the penalties of the law. The-latter prisoner confessed subsequently these persons were not the parties who haul concealed Itim. There were also two eases in which torture haul been administered to-convicted persons to extort confession and obtain restitution of the property stolen. In some.of these eases proceedings had beetninstituteul against the .11agistrates who presided, end to defeat those. actions, au Act of lodeuinity haul been issued by the Governon:General, Sir.Thon w , Brisbane. The effect of, this Act of the Government obviously went to screen the authorities, and the object,of his Inotionwas to obtain snore satisfactory infirmation ne to 'the whole of these proceedings. lie then moved for it copy of the ordinance to stay proceedings against the justices in these cases, signed by Sir Tho smurßrisbane, under date of the pith October, 182.54 and also fur , copies of the indictments sued out against tlus Magistrates in wird-these cases for cruelty or excess of jurisdiction. Mr. 'WILMOT HORTON said he was not at all indisposed to grant all the information on these cases which had us yet reached the . Colonial Office, He was happy to find the conduct of:the Gallant Cftleer Thos, Maitland) alluded to without xny insinuation as to his Icing involved in. the culpability of the transaction... The error as to. Pectur Pfluglass's. conduct as Magistrate had eriscu out of a series of precedents which .he .would not lull not ,progc4ll,oll;,a; • false-,principle. lie .Loped u,t the infinination would lw 44fferded, that the House would 4v;lhlaold its opinion until Hwy Wen. 11l possession of,thlit evidence. After it fi w n iL trout Mr. Kluwer nut Mr. wiLuoT Tox, the Itigtion was 4greol to. ~.SIII,I) I 4ING4i • Mr. TIUSKISSeN wiabed to, apprise the House that in eon.. auquenee of the time of tiw Home being. likely.to ha much occupied wAii a very - important 'topic of (ILK:minim , that ~oveniug, 'alionbi postpone tie minion of which he hail given notice for that evening Pi) Friday next. COIIN LAWS. Mr. Secretary CANNING moved that the House should go ;tun a Committee on the Corn. Laws. On the motion by the '1%44 Hon. Gentleman' that the Speaker do leave the Chair, fi r THOMAS,LETIIIIIIIDGE rose and stated, that inasmuch ea it was ability,. a pleasing ditty to rise in that House to, propose that which was populer, in the same degree it was painful to to interrupt the Howei in proceeding to the consideration of the proposition of the Right Hon. 'Gentleman, which; as Com. it 4 from, hintemeit always have So much weight. lie shod! pursue; on this occasion, a straight forward course despite eut . any giheewith width his 'observations might 'be" met in one quarter, or any severer. deuunciatiou which might escape from the Noble Memberthr Vorkithire, who had, on u former occa-' s;ett, expressed Woolen' in a manner on this subject which was nu less undetteiveitiliyethose to whom his severity had ' heen 'ape , plied, than it , h it lama peinTal to Oohs who heard it from that' Noble Lord Midi :•That inculpation was the more singue lar on the Noble' herd's part, ,considering the ekes in society to which he baking., thongh perhapie he may be considered a landed pleprietor inso:largo. a anise that' it might be also a matter of eadiference what Might he the price of corn. In 'resisting the motion of, the Bight Ham Gentlemen, he meant to 'induce the Howse to aerroe , with hint that it was a fallacy to suppose that any orineiderable relief wrould :teem from the scheme now pointed out -.1;1 Government. Tliat pnoposel, he understood, went to let Lose the bonded corn now in this ceantry at a duty of twelve shillings perequarter. This was the first part of the scheme, and to it, perhaps, he had no puck" very Strome objection IN he had to that whialefolloweil, end that beesute he thought the latter involved thewhole prineiple of 'the Corn Laws.--:(Hear, hear.) It Wu nowe;buten abort fortnight 'since, ow the' nunion ' if an 14:euniralile'Vriend ()Ode,' that the lines' would r t ij .' C lit to go into a Cr' immittsurto deed with the whole system of the Corti Lewd, that the lioneurablo `Member had been left in 'n large mi nority, and the principal argument used by him on that - eeetasiati erns, that as there existed - apoweibility or remote probubilitY"Of a eoarcity, the Legislature should therefore go iitunediately'to iioth wide the Cord Laws, so as to prevent the likelihood of its °cent res:ice. On that o union it would' he recollected. the argument need by his Majesty's Government was, that it would new le extremely to go into a =Nett of so much importance end vital interest to the public. Ile would' - ask what hail since arisen to alter their views, except, indeed, that the distresses in the dis• triot alluded to had *infinite(' - longer (for they had even then bi_gun), or that these poor numufecturene had begun . to be' riotous. Ile would believe for a moment what had been insi %mated, namely, that thew riots hail broken out in consequence of the manner in which the House had treated the motion of his Unueurahle Friend on' the:subject of the Corn Laws. - He meld not conwilie either 'that 'the subscriptions, urged so be comingly by the Hight Honourable Secretary for the Home De . pertinent, however extensive might be that proof of our national beneeolence, could'ite deep enough :to redress the evils slroa l ilY felt, tire Prove Any thing beyond a palliation to the 'evils which alp deflored. Head' were, as he' and ethers' believed, the case, weld. it , not have been fir better that his -Mitiesto) Itilinietere should tome .to the House and ask for a vote of e4 r ioney in aid' cif the poor's-rates of the-dietriet ito distressed, eteliich was a 11104 . that Ind 'Ortill ta-nm resorted to as to t 00.40 pariebee adjoining a distressed perish or district. Instead of what was now proposed as a mean 'of uteeting,the evil, he must contend that an application for a vote of money would have been much more rational: Some- perilous had - been hardy enough to arty that the cause of the present 'distress wee the' high price of win.' This wee all a fallacy, and he would be 10.).1 to know whether any one there would fern Moment credit emit ti thing? Yet that Olney hail been getting ground and gli eroselytet, berAdik: it hail hem; matured. by some pereons of coosideraide tee lent as a Means of getting at the r . landed interest. But thatruth we e, the cause , of the distress was ' to be treend to ether cireuinsttnees. , Ile knew that Miniistere now Maid it west not their' intentien 'at , preeent to moot the (petition of the Corn Ginning nodded aseent.) , e--lhul the object of the rentri dti 060trnIntlit i bean , CM) fined rthit bi I:Ct of the Cot-tl' buteled hero, he eh - unlit,' as that had been , thine before, not h ave ' 1t Lad bi.el tier of this project that' there wore not Jam- 250' to 3 oteOtat qwertere of tenni bonded' i t i , thewarebotteee,ewideli ~ vould thus be brie,-'ht intoethe tooket at 'a ditty '1)1 I pit tionieht, etaking,titc -different ports, then. toustu however be Aecordin t to ester.,; .yet this doubt n o t operate tes a teditih Mr. jle ee le se t e e e nigeet s tatement (41 the ',object of tit? Cern Triohlr 600,00fPquattersldid,not barn more than a week`a cOn ramption. To propose this WI a remedy, 4as to practise a deoeptiiiti. It was something calculated to soothe, rather than act as a grand source of permanent relief; and he must add, he did not think it a fair or a manly way of meeting the difficulty, after the House had been so recently informed that this was not the fit time to touch the subject, from Ministers themselves.— , In fact it ,onearefi to hiin ' to be an attempt, to get rid of the Corn ' Law* by ii:itule4ind;:.: ...Ile would 7aak _whether this 'is;as;l(.ftir course' for.: . 6oiernment to porsue with respect to it queetion which is of so' much importance in its'consequenees, and required to befairly and fully discussed. In the Committee on the sub ject in 1821 and 1822, he had laboured, without effect, , to. show 'that the circumstance of the costs of production in the country being greater here than in others, this - was the reason ,of the inequality of price. The system of protection for our corn i groWers should, he would not hesitate tie sey, l - be - On' a - different principle from that on which' Ministers would place it, and might to embrace a Wider range than either, that proposed by the-Bight Hon. Gentleman or his Hon. Friend the Member for Bridgnorth; and' great inconvenieneigs - must he experienced if' ever the ports were to be thrown open on a protecting duty of 12s. on foreign corn imported. There could be no doubt that a large number of persons had been lately thrown out of employ ment by a variety of co-operating causes. -These large masses being collected together in one place could act together easily, co-operate at a moment, and have recourse elt : her to physical force or intimidation. The atate'tuo of our military force, which was but scanty in that district, had rendered it easy for the par ties feeling.the present • distress to effect their riotous object or purposes. But that House was not therefore to legislate sud denly, merely because a large proportion of persons in a dis trict were in a state of riot or insubordination. He had to regret that the report of • Mr. Jacob was not as soon in the hands of Members as it perhaps- might have been. Yet he, on that very authority, would ask, could any man shut' his eyes to the important fact detailed in that report, that it was to the. state of the British market that all other countries Junked in order to fix the price of corn? Nay, so Fir did that reference go, that the state of the wool market with us regulated the price and even the growth of wool in other European countries which he visited. In fact, in consequence of the present state of our Markets these foreign growers had in many places given up the growing of corn for the more.profitable pursuit of growing wool, as 'night be proved by referring to the imports of this article, which in 1821 were not above 7 or 8 millions of pounds, but 'pro gressively increased in 1822, tol2,millious ; in 1824, to 18 mil lions ; and in 1825, to above 42 millions of pounds weight. What was the inference? Why, that if tiny pursued the present system • the import of wool lutist increase. Now a consequence of this was, that at present a great quentity of:Wool grown: theaelast two years was warehoused. What would be - the comiSequence to our corn growers if the ports were to be opened at an import duty of 12s. a quarter, whilst ,the price in Ireland was at 12s. and in England about ' 60s. ? Yesterday the Eight Honourable Gentleman at the head of the Foreign Affairs came down to the House, and in a manner-quite.: unusual.. in a British Mi nister, or without any. previous notice of his intentions, and just, too, a fortnight after the reason assigned fur re fusing the prepositions of. the Honourable Member for Bridg north, aequainted the House that to-night he should propose a set of resolutions iii the Committee which must go to annihilate the whole of the Corn Laws.—(Hear, bear, hear. )—He would repeat, to annihilate them: for if the question of opening the parts, WhiCh was the ultetior object Ministers had in view, was to he'left at their option who ' was to answer for it, whether in the 'O/cut of a bad harvest the ports would not be opened this autumn. Ills Hon. Friend seemed to anticipate the possi bility of as much frOm his speech on the late occasion, and he generally wits considered a good authority on this subject, though he did not pin his faith on his Honourable Friend's sleeve, or that . of Government, who might act upon that or upon even more perfect inthrmation. Indeed he thought that Ministers were going nut of their depth, and had ventured beyond those old safe land marks within whose limits the trade Of this country had hitherto been safe and secure. Thie . observation, was not confined to corn only,',but was applicable from what he could collect front many 'in trade to the shipping ieterest ? end lug ,hoped the Right Hon. Gentle Men womild he' able in 'give some satisfactory explanation '11 , 4 to 'the probable consequences a, t he measures, and. laws which bad already passed. He could not help'regretting to see that the reciprocity, in I respect to , ftee 'trade, had been any thing but 'a return of equal comme,rehmisadvantsgee. ' That the foreigner had ' been 'very sparing in yelaxing restrictive, commercial regulations, . whilst we had htssi hilt too liberal in removing the restrictions on . , conuneru • 'as rattA tti 'Other countries, He denied the y could do justice to the mannfacturer without some regulations as to core. The House must also look to the extent of our establish melds. lie was always of opinion, though he sat on that side of the ]louse, that they could nut have a cheap eetablishment. Again they had to bear a vontinuell Widen of thirtymilliens intereptun the national debt of this country ; and he had always been ready, God knew, to comment to sell the last coat off his back, tether than that the public creditor should lose a farthing of what lie had ad vanced on 'the faith of the national honour.—(Loull ChcermL)--.-It was the duty of the Homme.to look at the. interest of thudeht which they were bound to pay. If they indulged their fitu*s is piArs, suit of a free trade in those articles which were produced or ma-, ntifactured by the people of this country, it would he impossible to pay thelabetwers of the country such wages as were necessary to enable them' to comMand the necessaries of life.. Ile wished the house to , consider what it ,was that, mede a labour so much dearer in this country than in any other. Waa it not the.t.onti, of every twenty shillings paid to him, fifteen were ;paid _in. fart for taxes. He hopoi die Bight /Immutable Gentleman would not press this :sliddl end lt al dangerous measure mip Ho use; but the but recollect that there .was doodler atol a Safer mode 'of 'grant ing relief. . It waa,paitmful to hint to adopt - this - course; Inato felt it MI day tn.proteet the landed lintorrt. litheltitutedinte rest went to decey, every . other fain 0, with it;,, and . lw w.as persuaded that, by adapting ' the 'proposed' mtitle of relief', they would be injuring the landed intereat a and lay the.,... t feundatines of ,till more severe and extensive distress. , ~The ininni4o , sh e landed interest to the mannfiLetdrei s theinielvdmight beinterteil ham • the fact, that the home trade conatituted three-fifths at least, anti -was, computed' inure generally: to' alumina to four-fifthi, of the entire Mule of the conntrY.: •• The lion. • Member concluded by moving , as utuAmendment, "- That a 'Select. Comthittee be appointed to imptire_into the distress of the manu facturing districts." , - •Mr. lIENETT, would, take the earliest opportunity of giving his opinion upon the question, by rising to second the amendment of his Honourable 'Friend. Ile deprecated the course Ministers Were latent to pursue. The proposed measure: would derange all the transactions „of individuals, and defeat the Most prudent calculations oft which bargains; had. been made or • rent adjusted , fer several years past. •The proposers. of the measure would not say that tho Corn Laws ,were the cause of the distress, and he Was th,refore at a • loos: to know, why 'an alteration of the Coro Law* ,11,,01.1 he resorted to : as ,. a r e medy. If t h e me se adopted ibe • proposal,! they .would.. not only repeal • the Corn Law% but. they would giti.ti a..: Most - extraordinary power to 11. r trusted:" his. should not be -• suspected of any disi n eli n hti on to relieve the manufacturers, or of any indiffer incr. to their dicta r. But there were better modes of relieving them than that now under consideration. The . flonourablo Mender here reconotion(6l a Parliamentary grant in aid of the Poor nutis of the districts where the greatest distress prevailed. Tie was neat anxious to'gnard himself from the imputation of not feeling leer the distress, of the sull'erers ; but, if relief was afforded than according to their wishes, it could only lead to their own de,,truetion. Mr. Secretary CANNING said, that when he took the liberty of playing that the Home should resolve itself into a Commit tee, without any introductory observations, it was not, he begged to assure the House, from any wish to shrink from the fullest discussion of the propositions; but because, having last night stated distinctly the nature of his propositions, hehad thought that the further oliscussiou ought most conveniently take place in the Committee. As, however, it appeared to The Honour aide Gentleman that further explanations were necessary at the moment, he " was very willing to comply with his wishes. He felt anxious not only to explain the measures they had in view, but to diseneuruhlr them of the topics with which they had been unnecessarily blended. He assured the Honour able Member that liecould not think more meanly et - Ministers than they would in his opinion deserve, if they were to avail themselves of the circumstances in which the country was plated in order' to alter the Corn Laws by a side wind. It would he recollected that he had never entered into the discussion' .of thi‘. Corn Laws, so that whenever the general question was to he determined, he would he enabled as an individual to approach the question free fmm the bias of any previously declared opi nions. The present question was perfectly distinct and separate from the general subject of the Corn Laws, and ho regretted the part the Iron, Member for Sumersetsbire had taken, because it gave the weight of his authority to the opinion of a connection,-: l'he non. Gentleriinn who spoke last says, that the high price of corn is tint the cause of the distress, and that the effect of - the propoeed measures will be to lower Corn. Erf" *ay') he , the reine4 is not appropriate to the disease. He might bring 'to thetheir rust , if the llon. Gentleman that it is not a T1e.0 ,4,, ArY effec t of the reta in e n, lower The price of ,•orn ; but admitting Opt marl !I rak that it i s , AM the reasoning of tliC lionOrable 'hietnber' would he inconclusiv e .. Ile would refer to the first part of the proposition,' that to let nut corn • now un der bond, it might be 4 remedy, or at least a palliative to existing distress, although the Corn Laws had not produced that distress. A disease may be cared by a particular medi eine, although it would be preposterous to ascribe 'the existence of theilisease to the absence of that medicine. It was unneces sary ,tspon the present occasion to trace the calamity to its cause, whether it arose from over-trading, or from any particu lar modification of our trade. It was difficult indeed to ascribe it to :illy specific- and definite cause. - It was enough to know that'a meat piercing distress existed. .Then he .came to consider the specific proposition of relief, and to state the (hatted ground upon which they were advanced: There was a quantity of foreign corn now bonded in .this country, and there was at this moment existing, within view of the granaries in which it it':aA stowed away, the mestsoVere distress. Then he would ask, if their regard to the influence of moral causes, upon themost common view of the rela tives of cause and effect, would not induce thein'to set the 'corn free ? • This part of his proposal he was happy, to find had not been much objected to by either of the Hon. Members who hail pre ceded him. He would therefore for-the present pass to the other proposition, that for givingto Government the power of admitting foreign Cortt,ifit should in. the exercise of , it•t discretion think such a measure necessary. With respect to this measure he would say, that of all the boons which Parliament could bestow upon Government, thittwas one which included a task so painful and ; severe, that he would be almost inclined to resist it, if he were not convinced of its necessity. It was a task which he believed it had since been attempted, to impose upon Government, and which they 'had successfully resisted. But then it behoved him to .consider the sp a l circumstances of the times.. ParliaMent were about to separate. It might, perhaps, he said, what necessity was there for it ? To this he need only say, that Parliament could not always be sitting, and speaking. practically, it wad known, that its labours approached to their termination. It was a fact, that the coru market was rising, and from the best information lie could receive it had been gradually rising fOr several weeks.— When he spoke of markets rising, he did not mean to speak of high or low price. Because high or low price were relative ideas. Wheat was 67e. per quarter last year. and this year it Was 60s. Comparing merely the prices of the two years, it might be said that the last year's price was high, and the price l i of this year low ; yet who could douht, that with reference to the circumstances of the country, and the ability of t7te consumers, the price of this year was higher - than that of the last. But in legi s lating , with respect to the price of curs, the object was not so much lowness as steadiness prtces. Supposing then, that, during the absence of ParliaMent, is great and spreading, and oppressive distress should arise, would they attempt to le gislate before hand, and fix a positive price.at which foreign corn m i g h t b e a dmitted Would' they leave things as they, were? In that cause, and suppoSing such•eircutustauces to arise as he had imaginsal, any Govetionent doing its duty, although not legally possessed of the power,lwould take the power into its own hands, and thus rescue the c,:untry from the horrors into which it would otherwise he plunged, and having done so would then call Parliament together.. Between this and August corn might rise to such a price as to touch the verge of the law.— The difference between 'expediency and necessity - might so quickly be obliterated—the evil might grow so rapidly upon them that the most vigorous measures might be indispensable.— And then there would be no Parliament to resort to. Under these particular circumstances, and looking to the separation of Parliament, Goveniment called upon theist to afford this discre tionary power under the safeguard of the most .solemn respcu sibility. This prOposition had nothing to do with the Corn Law. Ile had adopted the precise duty as he had found it in the etisting Act. By this course he had given no opinion. He had thought that if they made any deviation either way it might be taken to imply some intention of change. The Honourable Gentleman said, then why not take Ns.? He would frankly say that it was because he thought that price had but little to do with it. The duty they hail fixed upon waa 12e:.. If they had taken the duty at I7s. it would not have been •necessary for Mi nisters to take any particular responsibility. The Hon. Gentle man protested against the supposition that hiir_resistance to the proposed measure arose from • want of feeling 'for the distresses Of the people. He protested alms against the supposition that the interests of the agriculturists and manufacturers were adverse. Ile joined with bins in these protests. He did not scruple to say to the Noble Lord, or to the Hon. Baronet opposite, that whenever they came to the full and fair discussion of the sepa rate interests of the lauded and manufacturing classes, they would be astoniabed to find how little difference there was be-. tweets theM. Still leas need the Honourable Member deprecate the imputation of inhumanity. HecaMe forward manfully and humbly to advocate the opinions he sincerely held. Ile trusted the -Members of that House would never stiffer themselves to cast itnputations upon each other, the only effect of which would be to disqualify themseives from affording velief to any class, and al draw upon them the general 'hatred and contempt of ' the oea,plt,. He believed the Honourable Member had spoken with a doe regard to the welfare of all elaroes, and with no snore than that flair partiality to the dates' to whirls he belongs, which in fact detracts nothing from the value of any public man, and adds to,that of any Member of a representative body. On the other hand, lie trusted the Hon. Member would acquit Ministers of any wish to involve theniselvei inau additional responsibility, with eta:: other view . than the good of all classes, anal part:- iwrhaos tnight say, of that class with which the 'llonoural:10 Member is connected. A degree - of distress's might . which would not only compel the total abandonment of the preaant. Gina Laws, but would oppose great difficulties to any fit tore protection.of, t lion.. .Gentleman • . concluded by observing, that, nothingbnt an imperious sense of ditty could hatie intitiE44l''Alitilaters to bring forward these priape siritfig- -that ; whinictlfey ss ik a d. o f diet #otakeiwzut that which they •would, gladly obtain,—(act f r t *), Air. BANKES eoposecl the measure, eti the ground that the remedy it applied was not' itiqwoliriate to ' the disease . , and that. ittentliA to barter the del :n o n of the moon racturing clantes in. re-a gaid to the Corn Laws. ClittAp C91:11_ that, was required to relieve the diatreasit • Wei' Out oloyinent, And iirltliiiitt'that,' corn' at )Os. per quarter would .timothenv, on; gotal.:. The Right :Hon. Gentleman was incorrect in apeilting of. tint gtana ,th r e. iel d in w foreign corn was placed being within view of istres h :lt i m e l h n thei a rinfacturers.'''''The whole quatitity Was under'3oo,ooo quarters and the greater portion of 'it wasin London. , , • , Mr. ROMiTSON pppoe4 the measure.. Ile thought it would be a much easier plan for Clovernment to purchase the 1300(1(4 Coin et its present Iniv price, and distribute it amongst the distressed workmen. - Mr. W. 'WHITMORE said, that in the existing distress of the country, -and in the present state of the stock, to suffer Parliament to separate and be dissolved would have been a most dangerous measure. Had Honourable Gentlemen coo, siderwl the probability of corn being at 803. the quarter ? Had they reflected upon the consequence • of the distress this must occasion ? The security of property, the safety of the Aristocracy, could not be thus hazarded without involving Ministers and the Hoop in the most awful responsibility. The stock of corn now in the country was very small indeed, and' Unless there was an increase, the help of Government ;dope could .prevent the occurrence of the most disastrous come quenees. The glect'of the Corn Law was to destroy our inter nal trade ; and he. would chew that,. at no distant time, there might arise a condition of things, in which it would be imps_ bible to get supplies at the moment of need. Prices must then of necessity so t use, that all the. evils :which he deprecated would be sure to follow. The produce of. the, country was certainly not equal to the consumption. If the supply were proportionate to the demand, the Corn Law .muld not raise prices as it did. On reference to the imports: of Corn for a great number of years past, it would be found that 'there had been an increase in them for each successive pexiod of ten years up to' the year 1820. From the commencement of the year 1779 to the close, of 1790, the grout imported exceeded the exports by 230,000 quarters. From 179.0 to 1799 inclusive, the imports were 320,609 quarters. Between the lust mentioned period and 1809, they amounted to 504,753 quarters ; and from 1810 to 1820, they in creased to 684,643 quarters, including the Irish imports, or inde pendeutly of the latter, to 583,610. From this atatementit was clear that the consumption considerably exceeded the aupply. Since the year 1823 the harvests were not particularly remarkable for abundance. They might fairly be censidered as instances ofor dinery supply, and yet the interval between the year 1823 and the present time was by no means a period of diminished consumption. On the contrary, during the years 1824 and 1825, the consump tion' was the g.eatest that had ever been known, and it just follow ell upon a season of agricultural distress. If he was right iii esti 7 muting that the ordinary produce was below the ordinary consump... tion, it plainly appeared, that throughout the period to which his calculation referred, there must have been a great working off of the stock on hands. He could show ty good authority that the stork on hand way , just now reduced to a very low state. The deliveries in the market were less fur the last six months than at anylormer period, and ri co sl r i n ing fi s v it i t i t i v o t c h t e . I 1, IBlt4 , to h t t l i a e r L e i l i z i v a.d e i r s p b oo l e l n ö tF the e deliveries t i t) ; of quarters, and front the lst of October, 11325 A, troisethieladistt:kifez.l4llarphelle, ;tidy 66,97.1 quarters. ' Is:RI, they Wert: iu tie prices of grain.. On the 25th of March, wheat wits itt I+ 1:i.I 1 (1. 11n the 26th of April the price was 558. Id.; on the 271 h, 565. 541.; and on the 28th, 58s. 5d.; on the 29th, 595. 4d.; and on the 30th, .608..1d. But all this increased price was oars siOned by th e r i se and pressure i n t h e money market. The l , os stocks of wheat wereno means extensive, might be eas ily mccitained fro m tile authorit of all pawns concerned insthe trade. Neither were the stoc y ks divided among farmers in ge neral, for the p oorer class had sold o ff their whole supply, and consequently all the existing - stocks were confined to a few wealthy farmers, and every day coming into still fewer hands. In such a state of things, he would contemplate with the greatest alarm any untoward marks of the approaching harvest. The quantity of corn in bond, he - did not think, would be sufficient, when liberated, -to JeWer the price ; be cause the' owners, if they consulted their own interest, would not rush into the, market, but would deem it expedient to feed the Pale sparingly,. in order that the value of the commodity might not be depressed. Ile did :not contemplate much actual relief as likely to result from the measure before the Muse.— The .utmost benefit to which he looked forward was the moral feeling which would be excited in the minds of the people, on perceiVing that their ease had undergone the consideration of Go vernment, and though a complete" remedy for the distress could not be discovered, yet that all the relief possible was afforded.— He did. not conceive that the Corn Law was the real cause of the public distress, and he thought, that when the question was fully considered, they would be surprised to find how little connection was between the law and its supposed effect. A sensible and tem perate alteration of the law, he was sure, would. be productive of much good. Colonel WOOD differed from the Honourable Gentleman in the opinion, that the country did not grow corn equal to its consumption during the last five years. For the last seven years there had been no importation of wheat, and the ports were open to the importation of barley. If such were the fact; and if the agriculturists were not discouraged, he felt confident that they would be able to grow corn abundantly sufficient for the wants of the community. He thought it a mistake to suppose that the interual trade was destroyed by the operation of the law ; for it so happened that in IBM the very year selected by the Hon. Member for I3ridgenorth, in his illustration, more corn was sold in Mark-lane than in any year before or since. The present mea sure was not likely to be productive of much relief, and it was rather unlucky, as conveying an impression to the manufacturing districts that their present distresses were caused by the Corn Laws. Instead of the proposedsuspension, he would recommend to appoint a Select Committee to look to the state of the law and inquire what measures might .be moat advantageously adopted.-- The average price of wheat for the last five years was 605., and he.would he satisfied to open the ports when it reached 705., at the same time that he was confident most of the agriculturiats would agree to open them at the price of 655. It was not indeed their interest to' drive. prices at the highest pitch. Ireland was interested in the question, and would not be fairly treated if they went into it hastily, by giving Ministers a discretion to import at pleasure. The question having been understood to be put out of the way for the present Session, the Irish Members had returned. home, and of course had no opportunity of expressing an opinion upon it. • Lord MILTON regretted the course which Ministers had taken on the .question. Since .Friday night, every one must' hive been forming anticipations of the sort of communication which would be made to the House, and surely none could have conjectured such a one as was propounded. The remedy, -he was convinced, was ono which had - no relation to the calamities which it was designed to meet. The Right Hononrable. Se cretary disclaimed any intention of altering the Corn Laws; and yet he called ior a power with which he (Lord Milton) agreed With the Honourable Member for Dorchester, that Ministers - ought not- to be invested. If indeed the manufacturing classes saw the necessaries of life at an excessive price, and if food were locked up from them, he would then be fur throwing open the warehouses. But such was not the state of things. Early in the Session he thought that the measures of Ministers were calculated to increase rsther them diminish the public evils ; and he was convinced of tie • truth of his opinion unw that the manufacturing interests were reduced to . se - low an • ebb. • In fact, the immediately commercial districts were suffering cala mities under which the Banks had fallen six months ago. A want of credit originated the evil, and -the measures of Minis ters had a tendency to destroy all the remaining credit of the country. What was credit but an expectation entertained by one man that the engagements of, others were likely to be realized? It was indeed nothing but a certain state of mind in a country.— a confidence that persons trusted were worthy of the reliance placed upon them. It was only to be raised by speculation and experi ment ; and nothing would tend so much to relieve distress as the revival of that credit which was but the creature of public opinion. He wished to impress upon the House that the present measure could be no remedy for evils which prevailed in Lanca.shire. Even the Welt Hon. Secretary did not propose it as a real remedy, but merely to avert certain possible dangers. Cern might rise when no Parliament was sitting, and so Ministers claimed a dis cretionary power for its importation. But Parliament hard 'yet twelve months to run, and why should they not continue to sit during . the whole summer ? Ministers would incur a high responsibility if under such circumstances they counselled the Crown to dissolve the Parliament. The Hollse'woulil indeed have good reason to complain if no more was done than the pre sent measure could effect. Government ought to be enabled to allot a sum of money in aid of the rates of distressed. parishes. The manufacturers of Lancashire were now become the poor, and the State at large ought to, be considered their : parish. It .was a case quite proper for the interference of Government, and it was their peculiar • duty to adMinister relief to those Whose grievances were caused by the acts of that House, and 'the speeches which had been made in it. Mr. G. PHILIPS approved of the menure proposed by the Bight Honourable Gentleman, as calculated to produce Much advantage. Iledtopad it would facilitate an import a ti on !of grain from the Baltic. The price of corn, it wilt' true, was not the cause of the distress; but then the delusion which pre_ vaned on that subject was eutireli owing to the statements which many Honourable Gentleman were in the habit of making in that House. The Honourable Gentleman 'here spoke in the highest terms of the acuteness and intelligence of many manufacturers,,..._ Their speeches, at several meetings in Manchester, were full of good setae and moderation, and he felt assured that, if they sat in that House, they would be able to puzzle many Hon. Gentl ene fi who undertook to assign causes for commercial difficulties. He alluded in particular to the distinguished mental powers of an in dividual named Hodgkin'', who was 'merely a labouring cotton spinner.. 'The Hon. Member for Dorsetshire had said that the landed interest bore the whole burden of the poor rates. But then manufacturers, alone were the' occupiers of all the land in Lancashire, and they were themselves the distressed partim The Hon. Members also stated that the labourers constituted three fifths of the population of the kingdom. But this was so fur from being the ease, that the agriculturists notoriously did not amount to more than one-third, instead of the landlords being three-fifths of the whole. Mr CALCRAFT wished he could agree to the measure pro posed, but he was forced to dissent from the proposition, being convinced that if carried as it stood it would cause much dis union between the agricultural and manufacturing bodies. • In the commencement of the Session he had recommended manfully to face the question, as mere consistent with the interests of the country. Persuaded by the arguments of the opposite side he yielded to the suggestion of the Right Honourable Sccre tary, who recommended bins to wait for the discussion, and accordingly he voted with the majority for postponing the question. But how surprised was he now to find that Minister* after declaring themselves convinced of the propriety of post ponement should be. the very men to bring on the question. When the Honourable Member for Shaftesbury inquired, whether it was their intention to let .out • the bonded corn, they replied in the negative. , That measure be considered as a mere feather in the scale, and if liberating the corn-in bond could in any degree soothe the sufferings of toe people, he would have no hesitation in consenting to such, an arrangement. To the second_proposi 7 tiou he was most strongly opposed, and could not agree to entrust a vacillating Ministry with the poWers' demanded. `whO knew not from slay to day what the country might require. He defied any man who recollected the weakest administra tion that ever existed in the kingdom to chew more vacilla tion in their, acts, than was exhibited in the conduct of the present Mildewy, and that on the moat vital topic. He would prefer a protecting 'duty on corn to the present system of the Corn Laws ; but if - they were thrown out by a side-wind, the manufatituring classes would say they got rid of the objection able laws—not by their petitions, but by their want, and the landed interests would feel themselves deluded out of them without discussion. Thus, instead of promoting union between classes whose interests ought to be inseparable, the only effect of their acts would be to widen the division. Parliament had subscribed very considerable sums in behalf of the soff , ring Hanoveriaus and others, and it would be singular indeed if they, did not advance some pecuniaryassistance to their own country_ men who loudly called for relief. He was afruid . that the country had arrived to the utmost verge of misery from the many, shocks it had received on all Sides, and a t a time like : the p resen t if some thing de: ; ire were not done it: might be too late to sav e it f rom iNI mlsicl called tY.bii'linis4er'would vote a sum for the gran t o f o u f t tlrornue i y n equivalent ti, the miceessity it, which might he proeurt4 from the sisperflnous products of any appeared mu c h aorif:ehteedpudludriicogineoteitulattitoeirss..f.,pa;Volsfe iHlisoiss.pel4lehm;ber upon sitting down he Was loudly cbeered.) Sir JOHN NEWPORT did not. see that either of the reme dies proposed were calculated to remedy the evils complained of. _He must confess that be did not feel disposed to adopt the resolu tion of the Hon Member for Sometsetshire. The msnufacturers thought the admission of bonded corn into the market was calcu lated to do much good. He differed howeer from them on that score. He was convinced do ineastare could be proposed for the benefit of these distressed people; unless coupled with an advance of pecuniary assistance. lf they gave them corn at a reduced price, their answer would be—we have not the means of pur chasing it at any price. The general opinion was, that the libe ration of the bonded corn would be beneficial, and he therefore thought it became the duty of Parliament to give way to that ge neral opinion. ;.; Lord JOHN RUSSELL was astonished at the inconsistent conduct of Ministers. He had firmly believed, from all that '! had fallen from them, that they intended to refrain from touch ing the subject of the Corn Laws, and he wished to ask them .- the simple question—Had they refrained? The Right Hon.. the-Chancellor of the Exchequer had given it as , his opinion that it would he a bad precedent to advance money, and called upon the House to refrain from so doing. Did the House think it was any use making corn cheaper, unless they at the same time advanced money to these unfortunate people to purchase that corn with ? He would call on that Right Hon. Gentleman to say what he thought would be the consequence, when the people, in a state (he was sorry to say) of insubordination, called upon • Parliament to relieve them, and they did relieve them by in stantly agitating the question of the Corn Laws? He would tell them what they would do, they would come (under similar sircumstances perhaps) and say—" You have acknowledged that the Corn Laws are bad, by your instantly endeavooring to- do something towards altering them the last time we applied ; now . ‘,.. you can do no more than turn your attention that way again, ' and do something more for us on the same subject." It would - appear that Bonded Corn could be introduced into the market without any material detriment to the Landed Interest: He would ask the Honourable President of the Berard of Trade, bow it happened that he did not think of that simple device before yesterday. He had heard as a reason, that there were several magazines of corn in the neighbourhood of those districts where the distress had been the most deeply felt, If he were told that the measure proposed to the House consisted in opening these magazines, and distributing their contents to the distressed people, he would then consider it a very good plan, but when he understood; the intention was to dispose of this corn to corn merchants, who would take it to the market,- and have their own price for it, then he considered it as a measure of trivial • importance. He thought that a large importation of corn, according to the power. granted by this measure, would be the ruin of di , Agriculturists. Ministers had grossly abandoned their duty iii not looking to this earlier in the Session, instead of turning their attention towards it within so short a period of "the dissolution ef, : the Parliament. He would look out for a better guide, towards furthering the interests of the country, than the Ministers with whom le had often voted however, and with whom he would again vote if they would only be consistent. He' had heard it asserted that the present distress arose from a want of credit, if that were the case it appeared to him that a grant of money to the Manufacturers to keep on their workmen Would act as a sufficient remedy to the present evil. lie perfectly agred with the Right Hon. Secretary of State that the Corn Laws might be etered with considerable benefit to the country. Ile Would merely call on the Right Hon. Secretary to recollect that finch was the opinion of the manufacturers also. He was con vinced that had the Right Hon., President of the Board of Trade only taken the subject of the Corn Laws into his consideration, with his . usual ability, at an earlier period of the Session, it would have been carried through both Houses of Parliament before the present advanced state of the Sosion. Mr. lIUSKISSON assured the Hon. Member that the same • conviction which actuated him a fortnight ago, actuated him now as to the expediency of not entering on a cliscursiois on the Corn Laws. He was confirmed in his opinion, by what . had passed out of doors, us well as the speechts of Honourable Members within the House. When there waif such a diversity of opinion, he considered the present time as totally unfit to enter on the discussion of the. Corn Lawe.-- lie was not a little astonished at the opinion of his Honour able Friend the Member for Wareham, who would defer his remarks on the subject until the question was brought forward.. • in a Committee, according to the suggestion of the Hon. Mem . - her for Somersetshire. Why delay his opinions on the sub- , jest before the House, and not wait until the subject cone before a Committee ? Two lights bad been thrown on the sub-• kct. On the one hand it was ingeniously discovered that the Government, by this measure had only proclaimed people that the Corn Laws had betas the occasion of tEI .• existing distress. He would deny on bis own part that the Laws had been the occasion of the distress complained ef, or even that it had contibute& towards it. It was far from • being a logical inference, that because Ministers had come down and proposed' a measure to relieve the pre:-.a urgent diOrew' r i o d n : a the n f and soothe the public feeling, thatthey Were thus proclaimingtus co cornea f o r n ra m w ;. intfficieney of the Corn Laws towards the public go , od* tion Lastnd year, at a period when there was a state of speculation and to . the overtradin g almost uncqualled—when all the world was roma - as amt s a e thate ve r t ti t a s iPes terials were not su ffi cient to ones jihe demand for building i quarter more than it was at p rese nt, and yet now, to to the lower, it had been IX Corn Laws. ' He thought there were very few Honourable labour tlemen in, that House who would say that the price cf . ought to be in an inverse ratio to the price of von; an& theretotore he thought, it was nothing out of the way for manufacturer! had lower their ' wages according to the pricy of corn. II fit acprtuicerinof—csovriinen;oll oethyeebnuihneigungstmfahrai already etated it as his opinion that the present was n ot t , e ,,bi e • time for discussing the question of the Corn Laws. A • , Lord had attributed the distress to a want of credit; and the (111 w hich way t o revive that credit, was to bring up the prices would occasion a greater increase of work. Ile had compared that morning the different prices of corn at the present time, and the period of six weals - of such great prosperity in the year attributed en. 1825, from 19th of March to April 23. Ile found upon compa rison that it had varied from 68s. per quarter to this. ; and at the same period no less than '500,000 quarters of wheat had been let nut, which combined with the quantity of a very early and prosperous harvest had almost overstocked the market, and they therefore felt themselves called open to shut the ports against. the importation of foreign corn. This restriction had not yet been done away with, on the same score of apprehen sion as to an overstock of the market. He felt that Ministers and Parliament were justified in letting out this bonded It was but adopting in 1826 the measure resorted to in 1625. If an, what became of the doctrine that the House was not at liberty to discuss the queition. Ile had shewn there was no formidable difficulty in letting out the bonded corn. He then came to that which wee the other part of the question, and to which there ap-- • peered a more decided objection. The Honourable Member for Sussex, who had opposed the proposition for admitting the in , " portation of corn, had not objected to the measure for letting out the bonded corn. As to the other measure, he thought it would have been as well to have abstained from :many objections . Whatever might be the opinion of the Member for Bridge' • north on the subject of a supply, he would give no opinion as to the supply of corn the country might expect. In the 3b hence of correct knowledge of the real state of corn, it would be 1 rash for any person in the situation of the Right Ho', 1 ' Pourable Gentleman to give an opinion whether there well" be an adequate supply of Corn or other means of subsist- • ence before the next Session of 'Parliament ;, , but there were circumstances connected with the state of distress which made ' t 1 probable corn could not be furnished at the prim., it , then stood. Corn had been rising whilst other things were falling. Ile knew from the Report of the Inspector-General of: Corn, as well. s t , the return of all averages, that the supply since last harvest ban been, compared with the supply of former harvests, cietici e° • in the extent of several hundred quarters. Those 'who thought the present price of corn was owing to the . currency, wu ul ti a see there, were other circumstance s t o accoun t foe it. Jo'' wished to impress on Gentlemen what occurred last Year' They liberated only five hundred thousand quarters of reign corn, which clime into consumption betweetiJune harvest of last year. That harvest was one of the earliest. ever known. To the effect of the harvest, and !1300,000 quarters of corn thrown into consumption, the Right Hon. Gentleman wag of opinion, was attributed the circumstance of the ports nu t i opening last year. Between this and the next harvest they might be placed in a situation of. cousiderable difficulty , I t ,!" was not visionary to draw that inference, at the wane time it would not be difficult to say that, in the present state of the country, corn at 80s. would produce a calamity, and strike society to the very centre. Gentlemen should, not run away with tin' . impression that tarn would not conic in when the price " . a s , 80s. The price might be 80s., and the country ieundatol wit h '1 foreign corn. It might also be necessary to open , the per ts , whether his Majesty's Ministers had authority for that purPO e • or not. An Honourable Baronet bad said, it ; would be better to open the ports epee the responsibility of Ministers hut was it not more desirable that Parliameot should vas t power somewhere, to meet such a state of difficulty? ,e measure proposed for preventing the importation of foreign corn would be no longer in existence if the House , ,of C° ll . l2g°° . allowed Ministers to act on their own responsibility. Any traordinary power Ministers might exerckse,. ,syenld, be 00. 1 1 - opening the ports without direetioni but They could not f a upon them to regulate duties. If Rorer vm, to ; 1?e,1 0 110/. where, ishit was to pprevint Parruiment from imposing those who were to ac t. The intention wee ,riet to 4I open the po l r, in an unlimited way, but for a liinited time. T4'0120'4 an; limit the prices at which they shOuld be opened, u tb s h in t ?.;